The present invention relates generally to fuel pumps for vehicles and, more particularly, to an impeller for a fuel pump of a vehicle.
It is known to provide a fuel tank in a vehicle to hold fuel to be used by an engine of the vehicle. It is also known to provide a fuel pump to pump fuel from the fuel tank to the engine. One type of fuel pump is known as a high-pressure turbine fuel pump. The high-pressure turbine fuel pump typically includes an impeller rotatable between inlet and outlet plates. The impeller is of a closed vane type to improve pump efficiency and performance. The impeller has a hub portion, a plurality of blade tips extending radially from the hub portion and disposed circumferentially thereabout and a peripheral ring portion extending radially from the blade tips. However, the closed vane impeller is hampered by flow loss and has shock losses due to fluid particles that contact the blade tips of the impeller.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an impeller for a fuel pump that reduces shock losses as fluid particles enter into the impeller from a channel in a pump section of the fuel pump. It is also desirable to provide an impeller in a fuel pump for a fuel tank in a vehicle that improves the mechanical efficiency of the high-pressure pump section of the fuel pump. It is further desirable to provide an impeller for a fuel pump which maximizes the volume of displacement between each blade.
It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide a new impeller in a fuel pump for a fuel tank in a vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an impeller for a fuel pump of a vehicle that reduces shock losses as the fluid particles enter into the impeller.
To achieve the foregoing objects, the present invention is a fuel pump for a vehicle including a pump section having a flow channel and a rotatable impeller cooperating with the flow channel to pump fuel therethrough. The fuel pump also includes a motor section disposed adjacent the pump section and having a motor to rotate the impeller. The fuel pump further includes an outlet section disposed adjacent the motor section to allow pumped fuel to exit the fuel pump. The impeller has a plurality of blades that are generally V shaped and have thinned edges.
One advantage of the present invention is that a new impeller for a fuel pump is provided for a vehicle. Another advantage of the present invention is that the impeller has a backside of V shaped blades brought to a thin edge to reduce shock losses as fluid particles enter into the impeller from a channel in a pump section of the fuel pump. Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the impeller maximizes the volume displacement between each blade, thereby increasing the flow path toroidal circulation within the impeller. Still another advantage of the present invention is that the impeller improves the overall mechanical efficiency of the high-pressure pump section. A further advantage of the present invention is that the impeller has a thin edged backside providing a thin blade that gives 25% higher head capability at shutoff and throughout the flow range with no increase in torque. Yet a further advantage of the present invention is that low voltage performance of the fuel pump is greatly improved versus standard straight blade technology.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated, as the same becomes better understood, after reading the subsequent description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.